In the past most fixed motor vehicle windows were held in place by a weatherstrip of rubber or similar material which also held in position a decorative moulding, sometimes known as a trim strip, to obscure from the exterior the joint between the glazing material and the vehicle body frame. The trim strip has been of plastics material and/or metal. The weatherstrip was designed for example to fit around the edge of the glazing material and at the same time to fit to the body frame within the aperture provided for the glazing. The weatherstrip therefore had to be individually made and fitted for each differently shaped vehicle window, for example, the windscreen, rear window and fixed side windows of an automobile. It is known from GB-2 092 655 to provide a weatherstrip, for a rear window of a vehicle, which has an integral rear spoiler fin.
Subsequently the glazing material has been secured directly by adhesive to a suitable flange provided on the vehicle body frame. Trim strips are usually still used and have to be secured in position.
More recently, commercial use began of edge-encapsulated glazing modules as modular windows for vehicles, in which a gasket of rubber or plastic material is moulded around the edge of the glazing material and is utilised in securing the glazing material in position on the vehicle body frame.
In some of the earliest edge-encapsulation proposals encapsulation was moulded around the edges of the glazing material whilst it was held in position in the motor vehicle, as described in GB-1 001 853 and FR-2 157 189. Another proposal in GB-675 147 involved moulding a rubber gasket around the edge of a glass sheet, after metallising the surfaces of the edge of the glass sheet, to improve adhesion of the rubber to the glass sheet.
U.S. Pat. No. -4,072,340 and U.S. Pat. No. -139,234 describe edge-encapsulated glass windows for vehicles, mainly small windows such as quarter lights for automobiles, in which fixing members are incorporated in the moulded edge-encapsulation.
The fixing members are positioned around the edge of the window and designed to co-operate with other members or holes in the vehicle body frame, so as to assist in securing the window in position. A trim strip is also incorporated in the moulded encapsulation and adhesive is used, in addition to the fixing members, to secure the window to the vehicle body frame. The preferred moulding material is polyvinyl chloride.
Reaction injection moulding techniques for moulding with material such as polyurethane have been used for some years and are now in widespread use. The application of that technique to the moulding of edge-encapsulation around a vehicle window is described for example in JP-57-158481 (laid open publication), which describes the injection of two or more components of a reaction mixture into a mould defining a suitable cavity around the edge of a sheet of glazing material, under suitable conditions of pressure and temperature to obtain a moulded edge-encapsulation of, for example, polyurethane resins. Other resins and moulding methods are also disclosed.
Other proposals for moulded edge-encapsulation of vehicle windows are described in EP-76924, EP-122 545, EP-122 636, EP-127 546, EP-145 354, GB-2 115 049, GB-2 141 375, GB-2 147 244, GB-2 153 292 and WO 85/01468. Several of these publications relate to the reaction injection moulding of polyurethane materials, the provision of moulds for reaction injection moulding of edge-encapsulation on sheets of glazing material, and the modular windows produced.
GB-2 115 049 describes the inclusion of metal frame parts, which are utilised in securing a window in position, within the moulded encapsulation.
In all these publications, the mouldings are shaped to encapsulate the edge of the glazing material, to hold or form whatever trim strip is required, and may also incorporate fasteners or parts of fasteners or frame parts.
It is a main object of the present invention to adapt edge-encapsulation moulding techniques in order to incorporate services which would be associated with vehicle glazing or to facilitate the mounting of accessories which are usually provided in close proximity to a vehicle window.